Apparatus for measuring electrical quantities



May 23, 1935- K. scoTT A 2,002,680

VAPPARATUS FOR MEASURING ELECTRICAL QUANTITIES Filed March 8, 1932 Patented May 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR MEASURING ELECTRICAL QUANTITIES Y Application March s, 1932, serial No. 591,497

9 claim.. (ci. 11s-isa) give a measure of the relative magnetic strength.

of the magnets.

Ak complete understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which the single figure is a schematic perspective view of an apparatus embodying the invention.

The apparatus may be mounted upon a nonmagnetic rectangular Iplate 6 to which a plurality of pole pieces 1-1 and 8-8 are secured. The plate' is provided with a 'pair of forwardly extending bearing plates 9 and II in which a shaft I2 is journaled. The shaft I2 rotatably supports two coils I3 and I4 which have anV equal number of turns and equal areas. These coils are connected in series and are energized by any suitable source of electromotive force I5.

On account of the fact that the coils areconnected in series, 'they will have equal currents flowing therethrough, irrespective of the voltage of source I5, which may vary without disturbing the equality of the currents.4 Thus, since the coils have equal currents flowing therethrough and since the areas and numbers of turns in the coils are equal, equal magnetic uxes will be set up by the coils.

The faces of the pole pieces 1-1 and 8-8 preferably project towards the coils and into close proximity to the coils, leaving sufcient clearance, however, for the coils to rotate. This construction of the pole pieces insures that the lines of fluxes passing between the pairs of pole pieces will pass through the coils iri substantially parallel lines. It is evident that the pole pieces 1-1 and 8+8 may be made of any suitable magnetic material, such as soft iron or other magnetic material. In the preferred form of the invention, however, the pole pieces are made of a highly permeable nickel-iron alloy,

. such as permalloy.

The poles I8 are adapted to be bridged by a standard' magnet of known strength for producing ux of known value. The pole pieces 1-1 are adapted to have a magnet I'l to be tested associated therewith to determine its 5 strength relative to the strength of the standard magnet I6. Since the magnetic uxes produced by the coils are equal, as pointed out above, it is evident that the torques exerted upon the coils by the fluxes of the magnets will be proportional to thestrength of the magnets. While the coils are connected in series, they are also wound in such directions that the torque exerted upon one of the coils will be in the opposite direction from the torque exerted upon the other of the coils with a given arrangement of the polarity of the magnets.

In order to provide an indication of the relative strength of the fluxes, a pointer I8 is attached to the upper end of shaft I2 and extends through a rectangular opening I9 in base 6. This pointer cooperates with a dial 2| to give an indication of the strengths of the magnets. Aspiral spring. 22 is secured to shaft I2 to normally return the pointer to zero. When the 25 magnet I1 to be tested is exactly equal in strength to thev strength of the magnet I6, the pointer will remain in zero position in the ,eenter of the dial, because the'torques exerted on the coils will be equal and opposite. However, '30 if one of the magnets is stronger than the other, the pointer will move either to the right or to the left of the zero point, the direction depending upon whetherthe specimen being tested is stronger or weaker than the standard magnet I6. 35 The dial may be calibrated to indicate the amount that the magnet being tested is stronger or weaker than the standard magnet, although if it is desired to merely indicate vwhether the magnet being tested is stronger or weaker than the standard magnet without reference to the amount of this difference, the spring 22 may be omitted, in which case the direction of movement or stationary condition of the pointer are the Vsole indicating factors. 45

It will be evident that when the spring 22 is omitted,.the sensitivitynof the device is dependent only upon the friction in the bearings and upon the amount of current flowing through the coils. By making the current through the 50 coils sufllcientlyhigh, the friction of the bearings of thedevice may be made negligible. The apparatus has been found to readily lend itself to an accurate and rapid determination of the strength of permanent magnets.

The embodiment of the invention herein described and illustrated is merely a convenient and useful form of the invention and it is evi- .dent that"various changes and modications for establishing a magnetic flux of known value means for establishing a flux whose value is to b e determined, a pair of mechanically inter--` connected electro-magnetic devices, eachin a eld of one of said iiuxes, and an indicating device actuated by the differential torque exerted by said electro-magnetic devices.

3. In an electrical measuring device, a pair of pole pieces adapted to be associated with a standard magnet, a second pair of pole pieces adapted to be associated with a magnet to be tested, Aa coil between each of said pair of pole pieces, .means for serially energizing said coils, a common shaft for said coils, and an indicating device actuated by said shaft.

4. In an electrical measuring device, a pair of `pole pieces, a standard magnet having its ends abutting the pole pieces, a second pair of pole pieces adapted to be interconnected by a magnet to be tested, a pair of coils, one of which is dis-- posed between each of said pairs of pole pieces, 4meansfor serially energizing said coils, a common shaft for said coils, and an indicating device actuated by said shaft.

5. In an electrical measuring device, a pair of coils, means for producing equal fluxes in said coils,- means for producing a standard flux toh 6. In an electrical measuring device, a pair of' coils, means for mechanically interconnecting said coils, a source of energy serially connected to said coils to produce a predetermined ratio of magnetic fluxes therein, means for providing a predetermined flux to coact with the iiux of one of said coils, and means for providing a flux to be measured to coact with the other of said coils.

7. In an electrical measuring device, a pair of coils, means for mechanically interconnecting said coils, a source of energy serially connected to said coils to produce a predetermined ratio of magnetic uxes therein, means for providing a predetermined flux to coact with the ux of one of said coils, means for providing a ux to be measured to coact with the other-of said coils, and means for indicating the relation ofsaid fluxes.

8. In an electrical measuring device, a pair of movable Aelements mounted on a common shaft, means for producing a magnetic ilux of known value for urging one of said elements in one direction of rotation, means for producing a magnetic ux whose value is toibe determined for urging `the other element in the opposite direction of rotation,I and an indicating means for indicating the relation of said uxes.

9. An electrical measuring device comprising a pair of pole pieces, a standard permanent magnet associated therewith, a'movable element including a coil between said pole pieces, a source of electric current for energizing said coil, and

means for affecting said movable element differ-J entially with a permanent magnet to be tested relative to said standard magnet.

KENNETH L. lSCO'I'I'. 

